So for some time I’ve been wanting to bring this subject to light. My good friend Rachel brought this topic to my attention a few months back on a night out in Manchester and it was like a revelation. All she said was:
“Have you ever noticed how groups of girls tend to dress alike?”
Well… I hadn’t before then but now I can’t undo that thought.
This question was risen when we were in a sports bar and there were two girls wearing matching outfits: long black rock style ripped t-shirt dresses, thigh high suede boots, chokers and blonde hair.
Undoubtedly these girls are/were (depending on when you’re reading this) bang on trend. Up with the current fashion trend but why were two girls, who were clearly friends or even sisters, dressing the same?
I have my own theory. I know myself that I’m very unadventurous with what I wear. I’ve only in the last couple of years tried things completely out of my comfort zone like bold prints, short dresses, strappy tops, the list goes on… Let’s look at one possible scenario; if someone I work with comes into the office one day in something I really like, I’m more than likely going to go online and find something similar, ponder over this item for a while and then decide whether to buy it or not. In my opinion this isn’t copying. I would definitely say this backs up the theory that ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’. If someone did that to me I’d be chuffed to be honest.
I don’t think the carbon copy effect is intentional. I think it’s that one item/trend/make-up etc might be done by one of the group and it brings it to the attention of the others. And that it looked that good on the first one that the others want to copy. The most obvious thing I know I’ve done this with was lipstick. I’ve never worn lipstick before. Well, that’s a lie actually I used to wear it when I used to dress up as a child, but as an adult it’s generally been something I’ve avoided. Maybe because smoking got in the way and made reapplication a necessity. I didn’t really see it as being ‘trendy’. I’ve always had. Love hate relationship with lip gloss too. Then Rachel started working in our department. In she came like a bubbly holiday rep, ready to get everyone pumped to do some activities. The first thing I noticed was her lippy: dark and bold. Amazing! Loved it. “Why couldn’t I be that confident?”.
I remember talking to her about colors etc and then it because a thing. Now I don’t wear lipstick all the time. I tend to go for lip tints as they are more day-to-day friendly for me. My favorite one is from Lush – smells, tastes and looks amazing.
This is now something I do religiously and would have Rachel to thank for it, for the inspiration and also the confidence to pull it off.
So next time you see a group or girls together, whether it’s even just two of them, there are more than often signs of links within. Similar hair styles, similar clothes, similar make-up, similar jewelry… I could go on forever… I will also state that I’m not saying any of this is wrong. I think it’s great! It’s lovely to see the influences around us all no matter how big or how small.